The Muggleborn Makes Me Happy
by lexi.atel
Summary: In my first year, I met a boy, who quickly became someone special to me.


**AN: Written for the 10 Characters, 10 Prompts Challenge**

 ** _Andromeda Tonks_**

 ** _Practice_**

 _Was originally meant to be an entry for Season 3 Round 4 if The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition with prompts 'icicle', 'dawn', and '1st person POV', but I mixed up the positions, goofing up the main prompt. I was supposed to write about the character being scared, instead I wrote about happiness, lol. This is the outcome. Hope you enjoy.  
_

* * *

I tapped my wand once against the my sister's mouse, Mess. She let out a terrified squeak, which, in turn, made _me_ squeak. Did I hurt her?!

"Messie?" I whispered softly, jabbing the poor creature with my finger, and wiggling it affectionately.

"Oh, good grief, Andromeda!" Bellatrix huffed next to me. "I can not _believe_ Mother is making me help you! You're completely _useless_ in this subject! Do you realize that?!" She crossed her arms along her chest, rolling her eyes, muttering a curse that would had gotten her tongue hexed off if Mother had been around to hear her.

"I can't help it," I mumbled, cuddling Messie into my arms, stroking her fur to calm her down. Messie didn't like Bellatrix. Not that Bellatrix really liked the mouse either. My older sister had wanted a cat at first, but, our younger sister, Cissy, said a mouse would be a lot less effort to manage. Bellatrix didn't want to spend much time with an animal, both Cissy and I knew that, so, I was relieved when Bellatrix changed her mind on the cat. At that time, two years ago, when we tagged along Bellatrix while she shopped for her Hogwarts supplies, I had not thought that a mouse would matter at all. They were disgusting rodents that chewed up anything they could get their teeth on. That was before I seen what Bellatrix would do to poor Messie (dangling her in the air by her tail, and letting her fall from a seven foot drop, and practicing hexes on her), I felt bad for the little rodent. It had also surprised me that she had made it passed Bellatrix's first school year.

"Stop that!" Bellatrix screeched, snatching Messie from me by the scruff of the neck. She narrowed her eyes at Messie, shaking her roughly. "Ugly critter," she snarled, setting the mouse back onto the desk. Addressing me, Bellatrix sighed in annoyance and said, "Since you're absolutely incompetent to do this the right way, let's try it the easy way first." Bellatrix took out her wand, her eyes shined a bit brightly, and I bit my lip, knowing that what was about to come could not be good. "It," (my sister usually called her companion 'it'; she did not give Messie much respect) "has to hold _completely_ still for you to be able to even _begin_ to learn how to do this correctly. If it won't, you _make_ it." Bellatrix said an incantation to a spell that I had never heard before. I could not remember it from any of the ones my parents had ever performed, or anyone else that I had met.

Messie let out squeak and then went stone, cold still. Her eyes were glassy and black, looking very much like marbles. "What did you do, Bella?" I asked in a frightened whisper.

Bellatrix chuckled joyously. "Wow, I didn't think that it would actually work. Interesting."

"Is she dead?"

Bellatrix huffed, insulted. "Course not!" She quickly removed the spell, and Messie came back to life, but she was not moving. All she did was blink and twitch her nose. I could see that poor Messie was breathing. Very fast. She was thoroughly frightened. I did not know what Bellatrix had cast, and I did not want to know what it was.

"See how still it'll be for you now?" Bellatrix pointed out. "Continue on, and hurry it up!" She looked at her watch with boredom. "I am supposed to be meeting Rodolphus in just a few minutes."

I refrained from making a face. Bellatrix pretended she liked that boy because he bought her plenty of nice gifts, trying to win her love. He truly had no idea that she didn't match his feelings whatsoever. I could not help feeling a bit sorry for the boy, but it was not really my business to get into, he'll find out the truth eventually. He wasn't a dumb boy, just a victim of puppy love.

"Go on and meet up with him, then," I told Bellatrix. "Obviously, he's much more important than I am."

Bellatrix giggled. "I think Mother would disagree with that."

"I was being sarcastic," I muttered.

My sister pouted, pretending to care about my feelings. I really could care less if she stuck around or not. Either way, I was going to fail, I knew that. Transfiguration was just too difficult for me. I'd probably have to take Year 1 all over again, and then Mother would be peeved at me because I failed her. Yet again, Andromeda Black would prove that she was absolutely worthless, an embarrassment to the family; a disgrace. It was really a wonder why Mother even had Bellatrix bother to help me.

I groaned outwardly at the thought of my mother. No matter what I did, no matter how much I tried, I could never please her. Bellatrix, 'The Brown Noser', did everything Mother wanted, with no questions asked, and if she _did_ do anything against Mother's wishes, she was able to sneak around without Mother ever finding out about it. Narcissa, 'The Baby', could _never_ do anything wrong (in my mother's eyes), and I, 'The Mess Up', was always the person blamed for _everything_ terrible that had ever occurred in the family. It didn't even matter what subject it was. The sun could had disappear one morning's dawn, and it would have _somehow_ been my fault. Last year, I had been blamed when Bellatrix scored low on her final Potions exam. Which made no sense, since I was still at home at the time (yet to have had set a single foot into the Hogwarts castle), thus I had been nowhere _near_ Bellatrix at the time. But it had _still_ been all my fault. I faintly remember being accused of distracting Bellatrix while she had been packing her trunk, and she had claimed to had forgotten a much needed ingredient because of it.

Bellatrix left me alone shortly after, ordering me not to spoil her mouse. "Last time I left you alone with it, it didn't do diddly squat in Transfigurations! I was mortally embarrassed! McGonagall thought I was doing something wrong!"

I nodded halfheartedly. Anything to make her go away. I have no idea why I bothered, but I went back to work, struggling with the stupid spell. Why did this have to be in the exams? I'd never need a snuff box.

Minutes later, a stack of books plopped down onto the table next to me. I looked up with narrow eyes, annoyed to have been disturbed with my practice. A boy in my same year, who looked incredibly younger (which may have meant that he was yet twelve years old, unlike myself, who had a birthday two months ago), stood behind the empty chair next to me.

I recognized him from our broom flying lessons. He was a terrible flyer. If you were a terrible flyer, it meant one of two things, _1\. You were scared of heights_ or 2 _. You were never introduced to brooms as a child_ , which usually meant you were not from magical parents. Naturally, those from magical parents automatically pegged these kids as "mudbloods".

He glanced down at my Slytherin house patch, before gathering up his books."Oh, I'm sorry..." he mumbled. "Thought you were someone else."

The boy's own patch was from Hufflepuff. Most of the students (or people even) from Slytherin didn't value much of the other houses besides our own (especially Hufflepuff. A few months ago, the morning after the sorting, one girl had received a Howler because she had been sorted into Hufflepuff. I was actually quite thankful that I had been sorted into Slytherin. I am sure my mother would have freaked out just like the girl's father had).

That thought made me shudder a little.

Luckily, not all of us thought that we were superior just because of the house we were sorted in. I was one of them, so I gestured at the boy to sit down.

"Do you mean that?" He asked warily, glancing around, likely thinking that this was some sort of trick.

"Sure," I said, sighing. "The zone I was in is gone now anyway..."

"Aren't you going to get teased?" He whispered, still unable to set his mind at ease.

"For what?"

The boy leaned down to whisper in my ear, "That-That I'm n-not..." he paused to look at me, as if waiting for me to say something.

"That you're not a pureblood?" I finished for him, since he appeared to not had the wish to.

He nodded and stood back up straight, not taking his eyes off me.

I shrugged and ignored the urge to shudder as the voice of my screaming mother invaded my mind. Oh, Merlin, if she had known that I was mingling with 'filth', I am sure she would had came to Hogwarts right then to personally hex me herself.

The boy frowned. "Did I say something wrong?"

I shook my head. It was my turn to look around carefully. Thankfully, there was no Slytherins in the library at that moment. Most of them didn't care to study in the library. Bellatrix had only allowed it because she didn't want to have to carry back the books that I had needed.

He finally sat down, and opened up his books to study. Advanced Transfiguration books. Fourth Year spells. Was it luck? Or fate? I'd likely never know which it had been.

"I'm Ted, by the way," he said. I could see him looking at me out the corners of his eyes. He appeared to not want me to think he was doing this. And, so I let him believe it. "Ted Tonks."

I snorted. _I couldn't help myself._ "What kind of name is that?!"

Ted lifted his eyes fully up from the book, wearing a serious look. "What kind of name is _Andromeda_? It sounds like you're some fairytale princess."

"Well, I _am_ named after a princess."

Ted wrinkled up his nose. "You people name your children weird here. If you had gone to the Muggle schools, you would have gotten teased there just as much as I do here."

I suddenly felt a bit guilty for what I had said. I was used to such treatment. It didn't seem like Ted was though. I looked down at Messie to scratch behind her ears. "It's a nice name," I tilted my head, giving it a thought. "It sounds... _bold_."

"And Andromeda sounds pretty," he said.

I glanced at him. This time he was hiding his face inside a book.

I knew what it was then. The bonuses of having an older sister and cousins. I got to learn everything quicker.

The Hufflepuff boy had a slight crush on me. This had surprised me. I was often told I looked very much like Bellatrix, who always had boys swarming over her. I never had this really happen though, but with the way Mother and Bellatrix spoke about me, I could understand why. There were plenty of other girls to choose from.

"Are you good in Transfigurations, Ted?"

Ted lifted a shoulder. "I've mastered all of the second year spells. I know every one of them by heart." He looked down at Messie, and shut his book. "Say, Andromeda, I could help you. If you want, that is."

"I can do it just fine, thank you..." I politely declined, and chewed on my lip. Could he really help me? Had he _really_ mastered all of the Transfiguration spells that were taught in the second year?

"Oh," he sounded disappointed. "I was hoping you could teach me how to ride a broom. You are a swell flyer. I wish I could be just as good..." Ted's eyes shifted sadly down to his hands.

He looked pathetic, and I took pity on him. Sighing, I said, "Alright, I'll help you, but first, you must teach me how to turn Messie into a snuff box!"

Ted's eyes shined excitedly, and he took no time at all to start his tutoring session.

* _/_ *

Several months later, I was feeling odd. Warm. Bubbly. And why in the world was I so giggly? It honestly took me a while to realize what had come over me. Actually, it was Bellatrix who had pointed it out to me first.

"Did someone recently send you flowers or something?" She had asked me, sounded very impatient with me.

"No, why would you ask?"

"Because you've been unbearably annoying lately. You've been all smiles, and there hasn't been a thing I have said that has made you scream, yell, or throw something at me." Bellatrix frowned in disturbance. "I'm actually a bit worried about you."

"Don't be silly! I'm fine!"

"But it is a boy, right?"

And it had hit me right then. I was crushing. I was crushing on a mudblood. A Hufflepuff one at that.

Oh, dear, it was a sin…! At least, it may as well be a sin, what, with the way my family felt about mudbloods.

My pulse beat wildly as I pictured Ted Tonks' smile. His kind, understanding words were repeating inside my mind. He had brilliant knowledge of many things, which gave me a reason to doubt all of what I had been taught in my childhood about people like him.

What was wrong with me? Why did it feel so nice to be around him? Why did it feel so good? The answer came quicker than the questions had; he treated me better than anyone else had in my entire life. He overlooked all my imperfections, and he helped me better myself.

 _Just like I... did for him..._

This had hit me like a brick. Like a freezing, cold icicle, hexed right into my gut. It was forbidden. Our friendship, our partnership (or whatever type of _ship_ we had) was against the 'rules'. What I was feeling was supposed to be wrong and went against all that I had been taught.

And, yet, I did not care. It did not matter to me anymore. I liked Ted. He was a very nice boy, and he made me feel things I had never felt before. He made me feel special, and that was an amazing feeling. He had even given me a nickname. No one had done that for me before. Ever.

I forced myself to smile wickedly, masking any sort of truth from my sister.

"It could be a boy," I teased her, knowing that if I withheld the information, that it would irritate my sister, who loved to gossip.

"Oh, who is it then?!" Bellatrix asked excitedly.

"Not telling..." I said, emphasizing every syllable. I would never tell her. She'd go straight to Mother about it.

My sister shrugged simply. "I'll find out eventually." She then grinned and giggled (cackled more like). "Crabbe eyed you at the table this morning."

I raised my eyebrows, trying to swallow the urge to throw up.

Bellatrix laughed. "It must not be him then!" She then pranced out of my dorm room, hysterical at the hideous look on my face. I guessed that it had been too much of a horrid thought to mask...

* _/_ *

"Know what I love most about dawn?" Ted asked me in our fourth year together. We were sitting on a sofa in a room locked away from the outside world, admiring the morning's rise of the sun. By this time, we had established our secret relationship, easily hiding from the rest of the school. We were sure the only one that even had an idea about us was one of the portraits on the third floor. We did not go there much because of it.

"No, what?"

Ted hugged me closer to him, playing with a strand of my hair. He kissed the top of my head. "When the light hits the icicles." He took his wand and transfigured several pencils into icicles, and strung them in front of the window. We turned our heads, smiling at the dancing magic on the wall as the sun's light shined through the clear ice.

"Beautiful," I whispered breathlessly.

"Not as beautiful as you are," Ted murmured against my ear.

I sighed blissfully, and rested my head against his chest. Ted Tonks made me feel wonderful. He made my life great when no one else had.

"I'll love you forever, Ted," I told him, hugging him tightly, lavishing the pleasurable feeling inside me that seemed to grow heavier more and more everyday.

"I love you too, my sweet, Dromeda."


End file.
